Much has been made recently of the putative return of religion as a force in politics, but it is striking that ‘faith-based’ politics are often about religion as an identity rather than a set of ideas or practices. Arguably, the term ‘Muslim’ has simply replaced ‘Asian’ as the preferred term for Britons of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin. Rather than the return of religion, are we seeing the consolidation of identity politics?
Throughout the West, people with different ethnic and cultural heritages increasingly live side by side. One response to this phenomenon has been multiculturalism, which celebrates the differences between people who share the same public space. But recently critics have argued that this encourages minorities to feel a sense of distinction from other citizens, and separation from mainstream politics. Increasingly people seem to engage with the democratic process, and assert their rights, as members of a minority group rather than as individual citizens. What does the struggle between competitive identities say about the state of politics in the West today? Could this undermine the possibility of universal values and equal citizenship?
 | Kenan Malik writer and broadcaster; author, From Fatwa to Jihad and The Quest for the Moral Compass (forthcoming) |
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 | Paul Kelly professor of political theory and head, department of government, LSE; author, Liberalism; editor, Multiculturalism Reconsidered and British Political Theory in the Twentieth Century |
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 | Dr Munira Mirza mayoral advisor, arts and culture, Greater London Authority; editor, Culture Vultures: is UK arts policy damaging the arts? |
| Amol Rajan columnist, Independent titles; advisor to Evgeny Lebedev; author, Twirlymen: the unlikely history of cricket’s greatest spin doctors | |
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 | recommended by spiked |
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